23 November 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Glacier archaeologists find a 1300-year-old arrow in melting ice

The Glacier archaeologists found a 1300-year-old arrow from the Norwegian Iron Age during a research project on the Langfonne ice patch in the Jotunheimen Mountains in Norway.

In the past twenty years, Langfonne has dramatically retreated. Its current size is less than 30% of what it was 20 years ago. The retreat is evident from the surroundings. The ice is surrounded by bedrock devoid of lichen and moss and is a light gray color. Three distinct ice patches have formed from the split ice. Only 10% of the Little Ice Age’s maximum ice cover remains at Langfonne today (AD 1450-1920). The melting of Langfonne is a part of a much larger global warming-related pattern of retreating mountain glaciers that includes glaciers in Norway and other countries.

However, the Langfonne ice patch is the ice site in the world with the most arrows.

Photo: The secret of the Ice, Facebook page.

The arrow was discovered in a collection of broken rock fragments between larger stones on the lower edge of the icefield.

The team believes that the arrow was lost and deposited downslope by meltwater and that it has since been exposed several times by melting ice over the centuries.

This is indicated by the lack of fletching, the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilization normally made from feathers or bark. Evidence of sinew and tar has also been identified, but this survives in a poor state of preservation. The arrow is tapered towards the end and the nock has been thickened for engaging with a bowstring. The remains of the tar would have glued the fletching to the shaft, while imprints of the thread securing the fletching are still visible.

In recent years, the team has found numerous arrows in the region during the Late Neolithic (2400-1750 BC) and especially during the Late Iron Age (AD 550-1050).

Photo: The secret of the Ice, Facebook page.

The team found another arrow earlier this year in the Jotunheimen mountains which dates from around 1,700 years ago. This arrow was found complete with its iron arrowhead, sinew wrappings, and aerodynamic feather fletching.

The project also discovered the best-preserved example of prehistoric skis, a Bronze Age shoe, and a lost Viking settlement containing sleds, dead animals, clothing, and household items in melting ice patches.

On their Facebook page, you can keep up with the project’s development and updates.

Secret Of the Ice

Related Articles

Viennese Archaeologists Find LEGIO XIII GEMINA Bricks

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

The fourth oldest school in Vienna, the Kindermanngasse Elementary School, is being completely renovated. As part of the renovation of...

“Human evolution” Migration out of Africa was affected by climate constraints.

25 August 2021

25 August 2021

The story of modern man’s migration from Africa still remains unclear in many aspects. Why did people migrate? Is it...

New study: Human brains preserve in diverse environments for at least 12 000 years

21 March 2024

21 March 2024

A study by forensic anthropologist Alexandra Morton-Hayward and her team from the University of Oxford has shown that the human...

The University of Aberdeen is to Return a Benin Bronze

5 April 2021

5 April 2021

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Nigeria has been calling for the return of stolen Benin bronzes (including brass reliefs,...

A 1,600-year-old church has been discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Priene

19 October 2021

19 October 2021

A 1,600-year-old historical church was unearthed during the excavations in the Ancient City of Priene, located in the western province...

One-of-a-kind 1000- years-old gold earring found in Denmark

13 December 2021

13 December 2021

A metal detectorist in Denmark uncovered a one-of-a-kind piece of 11th-century gold jewelry that had never been seen in Scandinavia...

1,500-year-old baptistery found in Kadı Castle-Anaia Mound in western Turkey

3 December 2021

3 December 2021

A baptistery, estimated to have been built in the 5th century AD, was unearthed in the Kadı Castle-Anaia Mound in...

The Ancient City of Kilistra, Cappadocia of Konya’s

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

When we talk about fairy chimneys, churches and underground cities, the first place that comes to mind is Cappadocia between...

Ancient city site unearthed in Central China produces fortune-telling relics

8 February 2024

8 February 2024

Bone slips used for “fortune-telling activities” and “ancient sacrificial ceremonies” were unearthed during excavations at an archaeological site in Puyang,...

Archaeologists found three large shipwrecks, 139 Viking Graves, and a ship-shaped mound in Sweden

21 October 2024

21 October 2024

Exciting discoveries in Sweden! Archaeologists were preparing to investigate a Stone Age settlement outside Varberg. But they came across a...

A female executive’s seal from 3000 years ago was discovered in Turkey

29 October 2021

29 October 2021

During the excavations carried out in southeastern Turkey’s Gaziantep’s Karkamış (Carchemish) Ancient City, seals and prints determined to belong to...

‘Dinosaur dance floor’ dating back 80 million years found in China

20 April 2021

20 April 2021

In China, researchers have found many dinosaur footprints in an area of 1,600 square meters described in the literature as...

An unexpected discovery in Pompeii: A Roman Tomb Reveals the Existence of an Unknown Imperial Position in Hispania

17 July 2024

17 July 2024

Work to create a functional air chamber to evacuate moisture from the underground spaces of the San Paolino building, the...

Researchers may have found 3,000-year-old evidence of Yue (Amputation), one of the five punishments practiced in ancient China

4 May 2022

4 May 2022

According to the South China Morning Post, researchers in China believe a skeleton discovered in a tomb in the country’s...

A submerged stone bridge constructed 5600 years ago shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

An interdisciplinary research team, led by University of South Florida (USF) geology Professor Bogdan Onac, has examined an ancient submerged...